When “Ant Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” hits theaters on Friday, Feb. 17, it will mark the beginning of Phase 5, the next evolutionary step in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). According to an Entertainment Weekly interview of Marvel boss Kevin Feige, the next phase could include a pullback in Marvel content for Disney+.
Feige spoke with EW's Devan Coggan about the company’s roadmap for Phase 5. In the interview, he spoke about the takeaways from Phase 4, and how the shows and movies in that stage helped inform the strategy for content releases from the company going forward.
The Marvel Studios head said the plan in Phases 5 and 6 was for shows sent to streaming to “stand out and stand above.”
“People will see that as we get further into Phase 5 and 6,” Feige said. “The pace at which we’re putting out the Disney+ shows will change so they can each get a chance to shine.”
When asked if that meant releasing fewer shows, or simply leaving more time in between releases, he replied “Both, I think.”
There will also be changes in the kind of shows that Marvel produces for Disney+. With perhaps the exception of “She-Hulk: Attorney at Law,” all Marvel series on the service thus far have been highly serialized, telling one overarching story across the span of multiple episodes. Feige indicated the company is open to experimenting with that format.
”’Lost’ was an incredibly influential show because it was this serialized story, which was not seen in television much,” he said. “Now it’s been how long, 20 years? Since then, almost everything has become like that. So now — and I think you’re seeing this not just with our shows, but with many other shows — you’re starting to see the fun of a self-contained, episodic story week to week. We’re going to experiment with that in some of our upcoming things.”
That episodic style is one of the factors that has made shows like “Poker Face” big-time successes, so Feige’s point is a good one. He noted that fans should begin to see the studio tinker with an episodic format starting with the new “Daredevil” show slated to hit Disney+ in the next couple of years. Season 1 of “Daredevil: Reborn” will shoot its 18-episode season throughout 2023.
Feige’s changing philosophy represents a shift that might not be wholly popular with Disney executives. Following the company’s most recent earnings report, Disney CEO Bob Iger noted that its most successful franchises were its biggest drivers of financial returns, and that it would lean further into those franchises in the future. Iger has put creative executives back in charge of streaming operations to ensure the company gets the highest quality content possible for Disney+, including new Marvel shows.
However, Iger is also planning a $3 billion pullback in content spending, so focusing on quality over quantity for the super-expensive superhero shows might still be in line with the company’s goals. Iger spoke of the need to better “curate” franchise content, and fewer Marvel series could help the company avoid the heavy-handed fan service that has plagued some of its less well-regarded projects.
There’s still a ton of Marvel content coming to Disney+ in the next few years, from “Loki” Season 2 to a series centering on “Hawkeye” character Echo to “Secret Invasion.” But judging from Marvel president Kevin Feige’s comments, fans probably shouldn’t expect to see three or four MCU series on Disney+ every year moving forward.
Disney+
Disney+ is a video streaming service with over 13,000 series and films from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, National Geographic, The Muppets, and more. It is available in 61 countries and 21 languages. It is notable for its popular original series like “The Mandalorian,” “Ms. Marvel,” “Loki,” “Obi-Wan Kenobi,” and “Andor.”